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Apple's iPhone could soon slip into second place, as Google's popular
Android platform sneaks up from behind with a number of popular and easy to
use handsets.

Admob, an American agency that tracks Internet traffic from smartphones and
other mobile devices, reports that in February the iPhone operating system
accounted for nearly half of all online activity from mobile phones around
the world.

But in the U.S., Google's Android platform was only a couple of percentage
points behind. Data from February released Tuesday show iPhone still in the
lead with a 44% market share, and Android close behind at 42%.

Globally, Android still has a lot of catching up to do. While iPhone
commands a solid 50% of the smartphone market, Android makes up a rather
less intimidating 24%, taking second place by a solid margin.

The difference, though, is in growth. Apple's iPhone platform actually
showed a decline in global market share after October 2009, and then
plateaued into February. In this same time frame, Android rose to 24% market
share from 11%.

Overall web traffic on smartphones grew by 193% in the past year.

The iPhone has dominated the smartphone market since it was released in
2007. Google and its partners in the Open Handset Alliance launched the
first Android-based phone in fall 2008.

Both Android's and iPhone's gains have come largely at the expense of Nokia
and Research in Motion's BlackBerry platforms.

Palm's WEBOS and Windows Mobile are the least popular smartphones to use for
mobile web browsing.